State girls basketball: Benson blows by Beaverton to return to 6A quarterfinals

Last year in the second round of the 6A state playoffs, No. 8 Benson Tech High School girls basketball fell just short at home to No. 9 seed West Linn.

A year later, the Astros found themselves as the No. 3 seed and hosting No. 14 Beaverton with a spot in the quarterfinals and a trip to the Chiles Center on the line.

The Beavers made things interesting in the first half, but Benson turned up the heat on defense in the second half to win the final 16 minutes 34-15 and the game 71-36.

The Astros will head to the quarterfinals and take on No. 11 Oregon City at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at the Chiles Center.

“It feels great and already going before, I’m really excited for the younger group to get to experience the atmosphere, the fans and the kind of competition that we’re going to play,” Benson senior Samarah Massey said. “I’m really excited to see the challenge we come up against, but I think we’ll be able to face it.”

Benson came out of the gates causing havoc on defense, especially Massey who had a couple steals, one leading to a breakaway layup that put her above 1,500 career points.

Soon after, Massey drilled a corner 3-pointer, sophomore Kyoko Solis-Beasley got a steal and pulled up for a jumper, and it seemed like the route might be similar to a Dec. 12 matchup between the two sides that the Astros won 65-36.

However, the Beavers offered some resistance as the Astros got into foul trouble toward the end of the first frame. They were able to cut the deficit to just 14-12 at the end of the first eight minutes.

Toward the end of the second though, Benson started to pull away as Solis-Beasley and senior Kelyn Johnson each hit a 3-pointer, meanwhile junior Londyn Dyton scored on a couple floaters as well.

The flurry helped close the half with a 37-21 advantage in favor of the Astros, but stellar sophomore big Jayla Lackey had three fouls as well as Johnson.

That didn’t matter in the second half.

Dyton came alive in the third with three buckets inside, followed by a drained 3-pointer for nine points in the frame. Massey was still causing havoc and scored seven herself.

Most importantly, the Beavers stayed away from the free throw line and couldn’t keep up the scoring pace.

“I have a secret recipe, so I released it,” Benson head coach Precious Alex said of the defense turning up the heat. “My guards, they just turned it up. They were in this triangle that I knew we could put the pressure on them and get stop after stop.”

Leading 55-33 going into the fourth, the Beavers were out of gas while Lackey finally got a chance to go to work inside, scoring six points in the closing quarter.

Defensively, Benson gave up only six points in the quarter to eventually induce a running clock and punch its ticket to the Chiles Center.

“Last year, we were just fresh,” Alex said. “My sophomore class is bringing it with the seniors to help. We’re ready for whatever is put in front of us.”

It was only a one-year hiatus for the Astros who finished as state runnerups in 2024 and took fifth in 2023. After the boys won on a buzzer beater the night before, Benson will send both teams to the state tournament for the first time since 1994.

Massey was a sophomore and freshman starter on those two teams, giving her experience that the young core will look to for guidance next week.

“I try my best to be a leader to all of them, even my other seniors,” Massey said. “Keep them uplifted, give them advice, take advice from them too. It’s just a sisterhood.”

Of course, Benson will be a heavy underdog as defending champion No. 1 Tualatin is the favorite. No. 2 West Linn and No. 4 South Medford also will have something to say about the title race as the top four have separated themselves from the rest of the field.

The Astros won’t overlook Oregon City in the quarterfinals though as the road to title No. 2 in program history begins on Thursday.

“I kind of like that, being the underdog,” Massey said. “We’re going to shock the state. That’s what it’s been these two weeks, shock the state.”

“We just wanna play,” Alex said. “We just wanna show people that we’re here and we’re coming with a bang.”